Waders, and particularly chest waders, are commonly used for fishing, construction, scientific experimentation and many other applications, and are useful for wading out into a river or lake, for instance, without the wearer getting wet. Chest waders are, in their basic form, overalls made from a waterproof material such as rubber, neoprene, or the like (or some combination thereof), and oftentimes include shoulder straps that serve as suspenders to keep the waders in the proper position on a wearer.
One danger that chest waders can pose is if a wearer slips on a rock or some other submerged obstacle, the waders may become filled with water, and in extreme cases, can make it difficult for the wearer to swim or stay afloat. Additionally, if the water is extremely cold or deep, the wearer could be subject to the effects of drowning or exposure.
To overcome these issues, several different types of buoyant waders have been developed. The following references show examples of waders, or other types of similar wearable buoyant protective clothing, that include a buoyant element, and are hereby incorporated herein, in their entireties, by reference:
Patent No. GB2068213A WADER
A wader comprises waterproof pants. The wader extends to the chest region of the wearer and has an inflatable ring chamber 6 near top of the pants. The inflatable chamber provides positive buoyancy when inflated and grips the body of the wearer tightly when inflated to limit the flow of water which can enter the pants.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,869,152—INFLATABLE WADER GARMENT
A wader garment to enclose a portion of the human body, comprising legs and a waist portion integral therewith and including a waist band to substantially embrace the body, an inflatable relatively flat sack secured at its lower edge to the inner surface of said waist band and being of a width substantially equal to the distance between said waist band and the armpit of the wearer, said sack conforming to the chest and back portions of said body, means secured to said sack for inflating the same, and supporting suspenders secured at their ends to the outer surface of said waist band at the front and rear thereof whereby to extend over the shoulders of the wearer in close engagement with the outer surface of said sack to maintain the relative flatness of the sack and to hold the latter tight against the body and with said upper edges adapted to engage in the armpits of the wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,154,800—LIFE SAVING WADERS
The present invention relates to life-preserving appliances and more particularly to a pair of Waders with a pair of built in air equalizing pockets for supporting the wearer in an upright manner if the wearer trips while Walking in a stream.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,465,375—LIFE GUARD CHEST WADERS
A life guard chest waders for use by fishermen and duck hunters, and having a resilient and expandable air chamber secured to the inside top portion of the chest waders to define a built-in life jacket, the air chamber being made to form a substantially water-tight seal between the top of the chest waders and the wearers body when this chamber is inflated, thus preventing any appreciable amount of water from gaining access to the interior of the chest waders and further providing floating buoyancy for the wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,500,485—AUTOMATIC WADER FLOATATION RING
Wader apparatus comprising a generally inelastic outer water impermeable shell adapted to receive and confine the lower portion of the body of the wearer and having a top adapted to encircle the body of the wearer, a generally flexible inelastic inner wall substantially commensurate with the said outer water impermeable shell, a generally flexible gas impermeable shell interposed between said inner and outer walls and being generally coextensive therewith and including an upper inflatable floatation ring chamber; the gas impermeable shell being adapted to entrap a volume of air therewithin, the volume being generally sufficient to inflate said floatation ring chamber upon the exposure to hydrostatic pressure encountered when the wearer enters the water.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,721,352—INFLATABLE WADER GARMENT ASSEMBLY
An inflatable wader garment assembly includes a lower body covering with a pair of leg coverings and a lower torso covering. The lower body covering has an upper edge including a front edge and a back edge. A bladder has a top wall, a bottom wall and a perimeter wall extending between the top and bottom walls. The bladder is U-shaped and has a central portion and a pair of legs. Each of the legs has a distal end with respect to the central portion. A tube is fluidly coupled to the bladder. Air may be blown through the tube to inflate the bladder. Front straps are coupled to the distal ends and to the front edge. At least one rear strap is attached to the central portion and is attached to the back edge.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,978,164—WADER PANTS SYSTEM WITH INFLATABLE MEMBRANES
A system for providing a secure fit between feet and/or ankles of an individual and boot sections of wader pants may include wader pants including boot sections, and wader support pants configured to be positioned underneath or over the wader pants. The wader support pants may include inflatable membranes configured to be disposed within or on the boot sections of the wader pants, and a pump in fluid communication with the inflatable membranes. The pump is operable to inflate the membranes to provide a secure fit between the boot sections of the wader pants and the feet and/or ankles of the individual.
Application No. 20080076309-LIFE-SAVING CLOTHING
Life-saving clothing, in particular for protecting against drowning persons in danger during travelling in water or any other liquid element. The life-saving clothing (1) includes a part encompassing the trunk of a user's body and is characterized in that the part has inflatable floating elements (3) which is made of a non-extensible material and is arranged in such a way that it takes a folded shape in the uninflated state thereof and forms a float around the user's trunk in the inflated state and the clothing (1) is provided with inflating elements (9) for the floating means. In a preferred embodiment, the volume of floating elements (3) is distributed substantially in front of and behind the user. The life-saving clothing (1) ensures the stable position of the user in such a way that the respiratory tract thereof is free.
Each of these above-referenced waders and wearable floatation gear has disadvantages. For instance, although these waders all include some type of floatation element, none of them effectively prevent water from getting inside the waders, and thus, the wearer is still subject to exposure from cold water. Secondly, all of the waders mentioned above are generally loose-fitting garments, which means that they do not provide much protection from the cold air or water.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a pair of chest waders that includes a buoyant element to provide floatation of the wearer, which may include an inflatable portion, or may include a buoyant material affixed to the waders. Further, it would be desirable to provide a pair of chest waders that could provide a substantially water-tight seal against a user's body or clothing, which significantly reduces or eliminates the problem of water entering the waders and coming into contact with a wearer's body.